Record sales volumes for Waylands which reveals 24% rise in profit

AM100 dealer group Waylands has reported a rocketing profit performance for 2024 after a trading year in which its new and used car sales volume reached record levels.

Its profits climbed from £2.5 million to £3.1m as its sales volume climbed 13.4% to 8,665 units.

Waylands has dealerships representing Kia, MG, Polestar and Volvo from Reading to Bristol and Gloucester. It has just become the retail partner for Polestar at Bicester, the group's second outlet for the EV brand.

The group's revenues neared £200m, but when reflecting the transaction value of vehicles sold under agency agreements Waylands's total transaction value was £251m, a rise of 17.5% versus 2023.  

That would put Waylands, a multiple AM Awards winner, some 10 places up the AM100 rankings from its current 84th position.

John O’Hanlon, Waylands chief executive, said: “We are delighted to report another year of growth against a backdrop of challenging trading conditions.

"The fact that we have continued to perform well is a testament to the strength of our brand partnerships, the hard work of the team, and the continued success of our strategy.” 

He added: "We remain on track to achieve our strategic goal of 16,000 unit sales from acquisitive and like-for-like growth."

2024 was the group's sixth consecutive year of EBITDA growth, to £6.2m, an increase of 20.4%.

The record achievement was delivered in a year when Waylands also completed a six-year £14.8m investment programme across all its retail showrooms and workshops. In addition, a further £800,000 was invested in infrastructure and solar technology during the year.

And it continued to scale up its Waylands Academy training unit for staff, with the first cohort of its Future Leaders Programme completing their training. One in five of the cohort have already secured their first management roles within the organisation.

In 2024 it acquired its sixth Volvo dealership, taking over the Gloucester territory from Johnsons, its second acquisition from Johnsons Cars following Waylands’ purchase of Volvo Cars Swindon in 2018.

This month Johnsons revealed its entire remaining business is being bought by the AM100 company which trades as Brayleys.